Automatic air and electric railway car coupler



May 28, 1968 w. B. JEFFREY ETAL 3,

AUTOMATIC AIR AND ELECTRIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER Flled June 27, 1966 3Sheets-Sheet 1 l I 26 .4 25 iii 5 g INVENTORS William B. Jeffrey John 8.Elder Robert B. Morris Jr.

y 3, 1968 w. B. JEFFREY ETAL 3,385,454

AUTOMATIC AIR AND ELECTRIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER Flled June 27, 1966 5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Fig- 5 FVz'lliam B. Jeffrey BY John 8. ElderRobert B. Morris Jr.

4Q z torney May 28, 1968 w. B. JEFFREY ETAL. 3,385,454

AUTOMATIC AIR AND ELECTRIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER Filed June 27, 1966 3Sheets-Sheet F5 .5 INVENTORS IVilliam B. Jeff'r John 8. Elder Robert B.Morria Jr.

Attorney United States Patent 3,385,454 AUTOMATICAIR AND ELECTRICRAILWAY CAR CGUPLER William B. Jeffrey, Irwin, John S. Elder,Monroeville, and Robert B. Morris, Jr., Irwin, Pa, assignors toWestinghouse Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Filed June 27, 1966, Ser. No. 560,528 13 Claims. (Cl.2131.3)

This invention relates to automatic railway car couplers and, moreparticularly, to automatic railway car couplers including means for alsoautomatically coupling fluid pressure hoses and electrical conductorscarried on the cars to provide continuity of the air lines andelectrical circuitry throughout the length of the train.

Automatic railway car couplers of the type which also automaticallycouple sections of train air lines and electrical conductors from car tocar have been in service for many years, especially on trains of thesubway or rapid transit type. Heretofore known automatic car, air andelectric type couplers operate satisfactorily in service but are bulky,of complex construct-ion and relatively high cost. For example, onewell-known type of automatic car, air and electric coupler is providedwith a contact-carrying slide unit and a door therefor which areactuated sequentially by air cylinders to open or close the door andshift the contact-carrying slide unit into or out of position forcontact-making engagement with a counterpart contact-carrying slide uniton a mating coupler. Complex interlocking controls insure appropriatesequence of door and electric contact slide unit operation on couplingand uncoupling of cars.

In a copending application of William B. Jeffrey and Richard K. Frill,filed July 6, 1965, Ser. No. 469,485, and assigned to the assignee ofthe present application, an improved type of automatic car, air andelectric coupler is disclosed and comprises a simplified and relativelylow-cost arrangement for coupling and uncoupling cars.

It is the object of the present invention to provide features ofconstruction applicable to the type of automatic coupler disclosed inthe aforementioned copending application and particularly to theelectrical circuitry-connecting portion so as to provide a relativelysimple, low-cost and novel arrangement for effecting door-opening anddoor-closing operation at appropriate times in coupling and uncouplingand without the necessity of eifectlng any operative movement of thecontact-carrying slide unit except that resulting from abutting contactin coupling and minor movement incidental to separation of the contactson uncoupling.

Briefly, the invention disclosed herein resides in the electricalcircuitry-connecting portion of an automatic car, air and electriccoupler, and comprises a simplified novel arrangement of the electricalcontact unit and the protective door therefor. The door-operatingmechanism comprises a simple lever system including a push rod which isabuttingly contacted, during coupling operation, by the counterpartcoupler head to thereby actuate said lever system and cause theprotective door to be retracted to an open position in which thecontacts of the contact unit are exposed in sufficient time beforemaking contact with the similarly exposed contacts of the counterpartcontact unit. The electrical contact unit, which is operativeindependently of the door-operating mechanism, is slidably mounted onthe coupler head and is spring-biased in opposite directions along thelongitudinal axis of the car so as to normally occupy, in a balancedstate of the biasing forces and in the uncoupled relation of the couplerhead, a position in which it protrudes slightly beyond the abuttingsurface of the coupler head. Thu-s, during final coupling movement ofthe Patented May 28, 1968 coupler heads when abutting contact of theelectrical contact units occurs, said contact units are yieldinglyforced, by movement of the coupler heads into final lockingrelationship, into frictional engagement with each other, contact forcontact, against the biasing effect acting thereon in one direction.During uncoupling operation, the electrical contact units, due to thetotal effective friction between the several contacts when engaged,yieldingly resist separation, so that when such frictional effect isfinally overcome by separating movement of the coupler heads, saidcontact units, assisted by the biasing effect acting thereon in theopposite direction, part with a snap action resulting in a minimum ofarcing between the several contacts. Being slidably mounted on thecoupler head, any one of the electrical contact units may be manuallyretracted and locked in such a retracted position, in the event of anelectrical malfunction at some point in the train, for electricallyisolating that portion of the train affected. When the electricalcontact unit is retracted, a switch associated therewith isautomatically closed for retaining control over that portion of thetrain unaffected by the malfunction.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a head-on elevational view, mostly inoutline, of a mating head of an automatic car coupler embodying theinvention; FIG. 2 is a plan view, on a smaller scale than FIG. 1 and inoutline, of an electrical portion of the mating head shown in FIG. 1 andshown detached therefrom; FIG. 3 is an elevational view, mostly insection, taken along line 'IIIIII of FIG. 2. and viewed in the directionindicated by the arrows; FIG. 4 is a plan View of the electrical portionshown in FIG. 2 with a portion of the casing removed and various otherportions cut away; and FIG. 5 is an elevational view, mostly in outline,of the electrical portion shown in FIG. 2 looking into the right sidethereof as viewed in FIG. 2.

erally designated by the reference numeral 1, of an automatic railwaycar coupler embodying the invention, said mating head being adapted tobe flexibly mounted by suitable means (not shown) on the draft gear (notshown) in the usual position at the end of the center sill (not shown)of a railway car (not shown) and to make coupling engagement with acounterpart mating head (not shown) identical in structure to matinghead '1 and similarly mounted on another car (not shown) to be coupledto the said first-mentioned car.

Generally, the mating head '1, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises acar-coupling or latching portion 2, by which the mating head is mounted(in manner not shown) on the draft gear, as well as a pipe-connectingportion 3 and an electrical circuitry c-ounecting portion 4 both supported by said latching portion.

The car-coupling or latching portion 2, very briefly, comprises a guidepin 5 having a leading tapered blunt end and projecting perpendicularlyfrom a face plate 6 in which a guide or gathering bore 7 is formed witha surrounding beveled countersink for receiving or gathering the guidepin (not shown) of the counterpart mating head (not shown). The guidepin 5 and guide bore 7 are so disposed on the mating head 1 as to beequidistantly spaced from a vertical plane passing through thelongitudinal center line of the car so that when two railway cars arebrought together to be coupled, the guide pin 5 and guide bore 7 willregister and engage the guide bore and guide pin, respectively, of thecounterpart mating head (not shown) to effect proper alignment of themating heads. The latching portion 2 further comprises a latchingmechanism of which only a latch member 8 may be seen through the bore 7in FIG. 1, said latch member being adapted for engaging a notch (notshown) formed in the guide pin of the counterpart mating head (notshown) when the two mating heads are coupled. The latching mechanism isautomatically operable for causing the two coupled mating heads to belocked in a coupled relation by the latch members 8 engaging the notchesof the guide pins 5, respectively, until unlatching thereof is effectedby a crewman in a manner not deemed essential to an understanding of thepresent invention.

The pipe-connecting portion 3 comprises several pipe connectorsincluding feed valve pipe connectors 9, straight air pipe connectors 10,coupler-operating pipe connectors 11 and a brake pipe connector 12. Itwill be observed that there are two each or respective pairs of the feedvalve pipe connectors 9, the straight air pipe connectors 1t andcoupler-operating pipe connectors 11, the respective connectors of eachof said pairs being located, with respect to a vertical center line ofthe mating head 1 as viewed in FIG. 1, equidistantly from and onopposite sides of a plane passing through said vertical center line andthrough the longitudinal center line of the car. Moreover, therespective connectors in each pair of pipe connectors 9, 10 and 11 areconnected in parallel relation, pair for pair, by respective commonpipes (not shown) connected, respectively, to a feed valve pipe, astraight air pipe and a fluid pressure supply pipe, none of which pipesis shown, so that the several connections between the severalcorresponding fluid pipes on the cars is always made even though thecars might be turned end for end. Since the brake pipe connector 12,however, is centrally disposed on the pipe connecting portion 3, thatis, on the center line thereof, it should be apparent that it is notnecessary to have two such brake pipe connectors on each mating head.

Since further details and description of the latching portion 2 and thepipe-connecting portion 3 are not deemed essential to an understandingof the present invention, and, if necessary, reference may be had to theaforementioned copending applictaion of William B. Jeffrey and RichardK. Frill in which such details are set forth, no further description ofsaid latching and pipe-connecting portions will be provided herein otherthan where considered necessary.

The electrical circuitry-connecting portion 4, as shown in FIGS. 1through 5, comprises a casing 13 and a cover section 14 having a boss 15formed thereon midway between the left and right-hand sides and closerto the upper side than the lower side of said circuitry connectingportion, all as viewed in FIG. 2. The circuitry connecting portion 4 ismounted on the mating head 1 by first securing the cover section 14 ofsaid circuitry-connecting portion to the lower or under side, as viewedin FIG. 1, of the latching portion 2 by bolts (not shown) insertedthrough holes 16 provided in the boss 15 and screwed into tapped holes(not shown) provided in the under side of the latching portion 2 andregistering with the holes in said boss. The boss 15 also serves tospace the cover 14 from the under side of the casing of the latchingportion 2. With the cover section 14 in place, the casing 13 of thecircuitry-connecting portion 4, with all its asso' ciated components (tobe presently described) assembled therein and said cover section aresecured together by a plurality of bolts 17, as shown at each cornerthereof in FIG. 2. The electrical circuitry-connecting portion 4 is alsosupported on the latching portion 2 by a pair of bolts 18 (see FIG. 1)passing through bores (not shown) formed in respective bosses 19 formedon the casing of said latching portion and screwed into respectivescrewthreaded bosses 20 correspondingly situated and formed on thecorners of the casing of said circuitry-connecting portion at the endadjacent the face plate 6 of the latching portion 2.

The casing 13 of the circuitry-connecting portion 4 is provided at therear thereof with a plurality of watertight fittings 21 through whichelectrical conductors (not shown) comprising the several circuits of thetrain are received into said casing to be connected (in suitable mannernot shown) to respective contacts 22 of a multiplecontact unit 23slidably mounted in the forward end of said casing.

Since a detailed description of the multiple-contact unit 23 and thecontacts 22 thereof is not essential to an understanding of theinvention, it will suffice to state that said multiple-contact unitcomprises a predetermined number of said contacts each of whichregisters with and frictionally engages a correspondingly disposedcontact 22 of a plurality of contacts on a complementary contact unit 23oppositely disposed on the counterpart mating head 1 to connect theseveral conductors comprising the train circuits.

Each of the contacts 22, which are a standard commercial type, comprisesa plastic casing having self-locking tongues and grooves arranged on theexterior thereof so that any number of such contact members may beassembled in block form to make up each of the multiplecontact units 23,said casing having a closed end opposite an open end. A spring metalelement or finger, having one end anchored in the closed end of thecasing, as disposed at a slight angle relative to the longitudinal axisof said casing so as to make sliding frictional contact with acorresponding finger of the counterpart contact unit when said casingmates with the casing of said corresponding finger when the couplerheads 1 come together. The total friction between the several fingers ofthe contact units 23 is effective for frictionally locking the contactunits 23 in a contact-making relationship. The same total friction alsoyieldingly resists separation of the engaged contact units 23 duringuncoupling of the coupler heads 1 and is therefore partly effective, aswill be more fully explained hereinafter, in causing the contact units23 to be separated wtih a snap action, thereby minimizing electricalarcing between the contact elements at the instant of separation.

The multiple-contact unit 23 is carried by a support plate 24 which isslitlably supported at opposite sides by narrow ledges 25 (one of whichmay be seen in FIG. 1) formed internally of casing 13 at each side andadjacent the top thereof, as viewed in FIG. 1. Each of the ledges 25 hasfastened thereto a rail or strip 26 of wear-resistant material having alow coefiicient of friction such as nylon, for example, on which theplate 24 may slide with relative case between certain limits as willpresently be described.

For purposes of simplification in describing the electricalcircuitry-connecting portion 4, the end thereof adjacent themultiple-contact unit 23 will be hereinafter referred to as the forwardend whereas the other end in which the water-tight fittings 21 aredisposed will be referred to as the rearward end.

As may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support plate 24- has an elongatedslot 27 formed therein substantially midway between the sides, intowhich slot a pin 28 fixed in the cover section 14 extends. Upon rearwardor forward sliding movement of the contact unit 23 on the rails 26, aswill hereinafter be described, the pin 28 contacts the respective end ofthe slot 27 to thereby limit such sliding movement. The contact unit 23is normally biased toward the forward end of the connecting portion 4 toa normal or disengaged position, to be more fully described hereinafter,by two springs 29 (only one of which is shown). The springs 29 are cagedbetween the rearward end of casing 13 and respective spring seats 30,said spring seats each being fixed to one end of a spring seat stem 31which, in turn, is slidingly supported by a bracket 32 fixed to thecover 14, the other end of said stem normally making abutting contactwith a push pad 33 fixed to the underside of the support plate 24. Thesprings 29 are under predetermined compression when the spring seats 30are in abutting contact with the brackets 32, respectively, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. Of course, rearward movement of the contact unit 23 outof its normal position, as will later be described, acts through thepush pads 33, spring seat stems 31 and spring seats to further compresssprings 29 accordingly.

The multiple-contact unit 23, as previously noted herein, is adapted forhaving each of the Contacts 22 make sliding frictional engagement,contact-for-contact, with the contacts 22 of the contact unit 23 carriedon the counterpart coupler (not shown) when two cars are moved intocoupled relation. Such engagement of the contact units 23 is effectedautomatically during the coupling operation. It may become desirable andeven necessary, however, to break the electrical circuitry between twocoupled cars in the event of electrical malfunctioning in one of thecars while, at the same time, it may not be practical or desirable toremove the car from the train. In such an event, means are provided Onthe electrical portion 4 of the coupler for retracting themultiple-contact unit 23 to a disengaged or retracted position in whichit is moved and may be maintained out of contact with the contact unit23 on the counterpart coupler while the latching portions 2 remain in acoupled relation.

A shaft 34 is rotatably journaled in the bottom of cas ing 13 adjacentthe rearward end thereof with one end of said shaft situated outside ofthe casing and the other end inside, as may best be seen in FIG. 3. Theoutside end of shaft 34 (see FIG. 1) has afiixed thereto an internallythreaded relatively short lever 35 extending perpendicularly therefromtoward one side of the electrical circuitryconnecting portion 4, saidlever being adapted to receive a lever extension 35, only a portion ofwhich is shown in phantom outline. The lever extension 36, which may beremoved from lever 35 and stored out of the Way when not in use, is longenough to extend beyond the lateral limit of the circuitry-connectingportion 4 so as to be accessible for manipulation in effecting rotationof the shaft 34, which has a finger member 37 fixed on the inside end.See FIGS. 1 and 3.

A torsion spring 38 encircling the shaft 34 acts to rotatably bias saidshaft in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, to therebymaintain the finger member 37 in contact with a pin 39 disposedperpendicularly thereto in one end of a link member 40, the other end ofsaid link being fixed, as by welding, to the support plate 24 of themultiple-contact unit 23. The torsion spring 38 is of such predeterminedtorque rating as to maintain the push pads 33 on the support plate 24 ofcontact unit 23 in contact against the ends of spring seat stems 31without moving the spring seats 30 out of contact with the brackets 32,respectively. See FIG. 3, Moreover, the torque rating of torsion spring38 is such that when two coupled contact units 23 are separated byuncoupling operation of the cars, as will be described in greater detailhereiuaftenthe torsion of said spring, acting through the finger member37, pin 39 and link 40, is effective, after a certain amount ofseparating movement of the mating heads, and therefore, the respectivecon-tact units 23, for overcoming the frictional resistance offered bythe accumulative effect of the frictional contact between the severalcontacts 22, as previously noted herein, thereby causing separation ofsaid contact units with a snap action, thus minimizing harmfulelectrical arcing between the several contacts 22 of the contact unitsduring such separation. A second torsion spring 41, as best seen inFIGS. 1, 3 and 5, may be provided on the shaft 34 outside of the casing13 to assist spring 38 if it is found that the latter does not providesufficient torque for effecting the snap action above mentioned.

In order to protect the contact units 23 and other internal mechanismsof the circuitry-connecting portion 4 when in an uncoupled relation, aprotective cover or door 42 automatically moves over the face of thecontact unit into a closed position as the cars are separated. The cover42 automatically moves into an open position, in which the contacts 22of the contact unit 23 are exposed, when the cars are brought togetherand coupled. The protective cover 42, as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, hasa winglike projection 43 formed at each end thereof and extendingperpendicularly from the upper portion thereof within and adjacent theinner respective surfaces of side portions 44 and 45, respectively, ofthe casing 13. Each of the wing-like projections 43 has a pin guide 46fixed there'- in and projecting perpendicularly therefrom into a guidegroove 47 formed in each of the adjacent inner surfaces of the sideportions 44 and 45, respectively, of casing 13, said grooves being ofpredetermined curved shape so as to guide the pins 46 and, therebydirect the protective cover 42 through a proper path of movement betweenits open and closed positions. FIG. 5 shows the cover 42 in its closedposition in solid outline, while a phantom outline of a portion of saidcover indicates the position of the cover relative to the casing 13 whenin its open position.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the protective cover 42 on each of theelectrical circuitry-connecting portions 4 is operated to its open andclosed positions by a linkage arrangement comprising a push rod 48slidably guided in a bore 49 in a bracket 50 formed integrally with theside portion 45 of casing 13, said push rod being of a certain lengthand having a free or abutting end extending toward the oppositely facingcircuitry-connecting portion 4 on the counterpart mating head 1 .(notshown) mounted on the other vehicle. As the cars to be coupled approacheach other, the abutting end of the push rod 48 on one of thecircuitry-connecting portions 4 registers with and abuts against anabutting surface 51 of a pad 52 formed on the casing 13 of the sideportion 44 the counterpart circuitryconnecting portion 4 (not shown) inoppositely facing relation to said push rod, while the push rod 48 onsaid counterpart circuitry-connection portion abuts against a pad 52similarly disposed on side portion 44 of casing 13 of said onecircuitry-connecting portion. The length of each push rod 48 is the sameand is such as to effectoperation of the counterpart protective covers42, concurrently and in a manner to be hereinafter described, to theirrespective open positions before the counterpart mating heads 1 effectcoupling engagement and for a reason which will become evident.

As may be seen in FIG. 5, the linkage for operating the protective cover42 between its open and closed positions (it being understood that thestructure and operation of the linkage on the counterpartcircuitry-connecting portion 4, not shown is similar) is mounted on theoutside of casing 13 adjacent the side portion 45 and further comprisesa connecting link 53 having one end pivotally connected to the end ofpush rod 48 opposite the abutting end. The other end of connecting link53 is pivotally connected to a free end of a carrier link 54, the otherend of said carrier link being pivotally supported from a pin 55 fixedin the side portion 45 of casing 13. A connecting link 56 has one endpivotally connected to the free end of carrier link 54, while the otherend of said connecting link is pivotally connected to an operating arm57 at a point intermediate the ends of said operating arm. One end ofthe operating arm 57 is pivotally anchored on a pin 58 fixed in the sideportion 45 of casing 13, while the other end of said operating arm ispivotally connected to the lower corner extremity (as viewed in FIG. 5)of the protective cover 42 adjacent said portion of the casing.

The lower corner extremity of protective cover 42 adjacent side portion44 of casing 13 is pivotally supported by one end of a carrier arm 59similar in shape to operating arm 57, the other end of said carrier armbeing pivotally supported by a pin 60 fixed in said side portion of saidcasing in a correspondingly opposite position to that of pin 58 in sideportion 45. A spring seat 61 fixed to one end of a spring rod 62 ispivotally connected to operating arm 57 at a point coinciding with thepoint of the pivotal connection of connecting link 56 thereon. The otherend of spring rod 62 is slidably supported in a bore 63 in a bracket 64mounted on side portion 45 of casing 13. A

spring 65 encircling the spring rod 62 is compressed between the springseat 61 and bracket 64 for a purpose to be disclosed hereinafter.

In considering the operation of the car coupler disclosed herein, let itbe assumed that two railway vehicles (not shown) are to be coupled andeach is equipped at each end thereof with a mating head 1 in the mannerabove described. As the cars are moved toward each other, the taperedguide pin 5 on one mating head enters the guide bore 7 on the othermating head and vice versa to thereby effect proper alignment of themating heads on the adjacent ends of the cars being coupled. At the sametime, the push rod 48 of the one mating head 1 abuttingly contacts theabutting surface 51 of pad 52 on the other mating head and vice versa toinitiate operation of the protective covers 42 on both mating heads fromtheir respective closed positions to their respective open positions ina manner set forth below. Since the corresponding components of themating heads on both cars are similar in structure and functionsimultaneously in an identical manner during coupling of the cars,operation of just one of said mating heads will be described, it beingunderstood that the other adjacent mating head on the adjacent car isfunctioning in a similar manner to effect a coupling relation.

As the cars come together and upon complete abutment of the matingheads, the guide pins 5 of the latching portions 2 are engaged by thelatch members 8, respectively, to effect locking of the mating headsinto coupled relation. At the same time all fluid pressure connectionsbetween the pipe connectors 9, 10, 11 and 12 are effected in the mannerdescribed in the aforementioned copending application of William B.Jeffrey and Richard K. Frill.

Following initial contact of push rod 48 with the pad 52 on the othermating head and during final movement of the mating heads into completeabutting and coupled relation, such movement causes said push rod to bemoved out of a normal or extended position in a righthand direction, asviewed in FIG. 5, in the bracket 50 relative to the circuitry-connectingportion 4. Rightward movement of the push rod 48, acting throughconnecting link 53, causes counterclockwise rotation of carrier link 54about pin 55. A stop pin 66 remov-ably secured in casing 13 andsurrounded by a rubber type sleeve 67 (see FIG. 4) limits rotation ofcarrier link 54 to less than 180 and thereby prevents possible rotationof said carrier link 54 past a no-return point. counterclockwiserotation of carrier link 54, acting through connecting link 56 andspring seat 61, causes spring rod 62 to be drawn rearwardly or in aright-hand direction as viewed in FIG. 5, thereby compressing spring 65between said spring seat and bracket 64. Rearward movement of spring rod62 effects counterclockwise rotation of operating arm 57 about pin 58.Counterclockwise rotation of operating arm 57 causes the protectivecover 42, the other end of which is supported by carrier arm 59, to bepulled downwardly and underneath casing 13, as guided by the guide pins46 in the guide grooves 47, to its open position shown in phantomoutline in FIG. 5. As was above intimated, operation of the protectivecovers 42 on the respective circuitry-connecting portions 4 to theirrespective open positions must be accomplished, and is accomplished dueto the length of the respective push rods 48, so as to have said coversclear of the respective contact units 23 before said contact units comeinto contact with each other.

Before final and complete coupling engagement of the mating heads 1 and,therefore, the circuitry-connecting portions 4, the respective contactunits 23 are precisely aligned by a guide pin 68 projectingperpendicularly from the face of the contact unit and a recess 69provided in said face (see FIGS. 1 and 3), said pin and said recessbeing so disposed that, during coupling operation, the guide pin on onemating head registers with and is received by the recess on the othermating head, and vice versa. The protective cover 42 is provided with aslot 70 for accommodating the guide pin 68 when said cover is closed.

Upon initial contact of the contact unit 23 with the contact unit on thecounterpart mating head, said contact unit is moved rearwardly bysliding on the rails 26 against the opposition of springs 29, whichnormally hold the contact unit in an extended position in which itprojects slightly beyond the forward end or abutting face of casing 13.As the contact unit 23 is moved rearwardly by abutment with thecounterpart contact unit, the springs 29 are increasingly compressed andforce the contacts 22 into engagement with the contacts 22 on thecounterpart contact unit against the yielding fricional resistance ofthe contacts themselves. If the force of the compressed springs 29 failsto effect complete engagement of the contacts 22, before the matingheads 1 have moved into complete coupling relation, as for example, ifone or both of springs 29 break, the forward end of slot 27, as thecontact unit 23 moves rearwardly, eventually comes into contact with thefixed pin 28 thereby preventing further rearward movement of saidcontact unit and thus insuring complete engagement of the contacts 22 bythe time the mating heads 1 have completely moved into coupled relationand the abutting face of casing 13 is in contact with the abutting faceof the counterpart casing.

With the mating head 1 in coupled relation with the counterpart matinghead, and therefore, with the contacts 22 of the contact unit 23 engagedwith the contacts on the counterpart mating head, all necessaryelectrical connections are established for closing respective electricalcircuits (not shown) extending throughout the train for supplyingelectrical current to various electrical equipment and devices, saidcircuits including a power loop circuit (not shown). The power loopcircuit, which extends throughout the entire length of the train,comprises two electrical conductors (not shown) which are connectedserially from car to car through the electrical circuitry-connectingportions 4 of the mating heads 1. Since electrical current is suppliedthrough the power loop circuit to such equipment as the tail and stoplights (not shown) on the rear end of the train and to the operatorscontroller (not shown) on the lead car, it is essential that thecontinuity of said power loop circuit be maintained without interruptionin order to not lose control of the train. Such continuity is providedthrough certain ones of the electrical contacts 22 of the contact unit23 when the electrical circuitry-connecting portions 4 are in coupledrelation. Since the mating head 1 on the rear end of the last car in thetrain is not coupled to a counterpart mating head for maintainingcontinuity of the power loop circuit, the electricalcircuitry-connecting portion 4 of each of the mating heads has anautomatically electrical switch device 71 mounted therein and to whichthe conductors of the power loop circuit are connected.

The switch device 71 is normally disposed in a closed position in whichthe power loop circuit is closed, that is, when the circuitry-connectingportion 4 on which it is carried is in an uncoupled state. The switchdevice 71 has an operating lever 72 which is adapted for actuation by acam 73 fixed to the inner end of pin 58 (see FIG. 3) for rotationtherewith when said pin, which is fixed to the operating arm 57 of theprotective cover 42, is rotated by rotation of said operating arm, asabove described. With the protective cover 42 in its closed position,cam 73 is effective for causing lever 72 to operate the switch device toits closed position, above defined. When the protective cover 42 isoperated to its open position by coupling action of the mating head 1,above described, rotation of pin 58 and cam 73 is effective for causinglever 72 to operate the switch device 71 to an open position forbreaking the power loop circuit through said switch device since saidpower loop circuit, as above noted, is closed by engagement of andthrough the contact units 23. i

With the mating head 1 and the electrical circuitry connecting portion 4thereof disposed in a coupled relation with a counterpart mating head,some malfunctioning of the electrical equipment, other than thatcontrolled through the power loo-p circuit, may develop on the car onwhich said mating head is mounted. It may be desirable, therefore, toisolate and cut off further operation of the malfunctioning electricalequipment without removing the car from the train. Such isolation of themalfunctioning equipment can be effected by manually rotating shaft 34through lever 35 and lever extension 36 out of a normal position in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, against the torsion ofsprings 38 and 41. Such rotation of shaft 34 causes the finger 'member37, acting against pin 39 and through link member 40, to force thecontact unit 23 to slide rearwardly on the tracks 26 to a retractedposition in which said contact unit and the contacts 22 thereon aredisengaged from the contact unit and contacts on the counter-part matinghead, thereby breaking the several electrical circuits connected by saidcontact units without uncoupling the mating heads 1. The amount ofrearward movement of the contact unit 23 is limited by contact of theforward end of slot 27 with pin 28, such amount of rearward movementbeing sufiicient for breaking engagement of the contacts 22 on thecoupled mating heads. A retractable pin 74, which may best be seen inFIGS. 1 and 5 and which may be retracted into the bottom of casing 13 bypushing axially on the free end of the pin, is so situated that, whenthus retracted, it permits the extension lever 36 to pass underneath itwhen said lever is operated to a retracting position in which contactunit 23 is moved to its retracted position as above described. When thelever 36 has moved past pin 74, said pin is allowed to drop out ofcasing 13 so that said lever may be biased thereagainst by the torsionof springs 38 and 41 and held in its cut-off position until released.With contact unit 23 in its retracted position, the springs 29 areaccordingly compressed and remain so until extension lever 36 isreleased, whereupon said compressed springs are effective for restoringthe contact unit to its normal position.

When the contact unit 23 on any one car is operated to its retractedposition, as immediately above described, all circuits including thepower loop circuit connected therethrough when in its coupled relationwith the counterpart contact unit are disrupted in said car and in anyand all cars that might be coupled behind said one car. Again, however,it is desirable to maintain continuity of the power loop circuit forcontrolling all cars on the train. Such continuity of the power loopcircuit is maintained through a second switch device 75 in casing '13(see FIG. 4) and similar to switch device 71. The switch device 75 isprovided on each of the mating heads 1, and like switch device '71, isconnected to the conductors of the power loop circuit and is normallydisposed in an open position in which the power loop circuit is alsoopen through said switch device but closed through the contact units 23when said contact units are engaged. When the contact unit 223 ismanually operated to its retracted position, as above described and inwhich the power loop circuit is then disrupted therethrough, saidcontact unit engages an operating lever (not shown) of the switch device75 to effect operation of the switch device to a closed position inwhich said power loop circuit is reclosed through said switch device tomaintain the continuity thereof throughout that portion of the trainahead of the car in which the breakdown occurred. [It should beunderstood, however, that if malfunctioning occurs on one of the cars inthe electrical equipment controlled by the power loop circuit or on oneof the cars close to the head end of the train, then such car musteither be cut out of the train or moved to the rear thereof. If thedisabled car is coupled to the rear of the train, the power loop circuitmay be closed through the remainder of the train by manually operatingthe contact unit 23 on the rear of the car immediately ahead of thedisabled car to its retracted position for closing the switch 75. If andwhen the malfunction is corrected, the contact unit 23, as abovedescribed, may be restored to its normal position by pushing theretractable pin 74 into casing #13, thereby permitting the extensionlever 36 to be released from its retracting position. With the contactunit 23 restored to its normal position, all electrical connections arerestored through the contacts 212, including the power loop circuit, andswitch device 75 is restored to its normally open position.

When it is desired to uncouple two coupled cars, a crewman operates anelectrical switch (not shown) on one of the cars to be uncoupled,operation of which switch causes operation of fluid pressure operablecylinder devices (not shown) on the latching portions 2 of the matingheads 1 for disengaging the latch members 8 from the notches (not shown)in the pins 5, respectively. When the pins 5 are disengaged by thelatching members 8-, the cars may be separated, whereupon all pipeconnectors 9, 10, 11 and 12 are separated. Since each of the pipeconnectors 9, 10, %11 and 12 are connected to pipes (not shown) whichare normally charged with feed valve supply pressure, straight airpressure and brake pipe pressure, respectively, said pipe connectors areeach equipped with valve means whereby the connectors and therefore therespective pipes are automatically closed to atmosphere upon separationof the mating heads. Separation of the cars also effects separation ofthe electrical circuitry-connecting portions 4.

During initial separation of the mating heads 1 and, therefore, of theelectrical circuitry-connecting portions 4, the cumulative effect offriction between the several engaged contacts 22 of the contact units 23causes said contact units to resist such separation. The contact unit23, therefore, in each of the mating heads slides forwardly on the rails26, against the opposing torsion of springs 38 and 4 1 acting throughfinger 37 and link 40, until the rearward end of slot 27 comes intocontact with the fixed pin 28, thereby taking up all lost motiontherebetween. Upon exhaustion of such lost motion and due to the torsionof springs 38 and =41 acting on the contact uni-t 23, said contact unitis caused to separate from the counterpart contact unit with asnap-actiomtthereby minimizing harmful electrical arcing between the"separating contacts 22.

As the mating heads 1 move completely apart during the uncouplingoperation, spring 65' (on the electrical portion 4) which was compressedbetween spring seat 6l1 and bracket 64 during the coupling operation, iseffective through the operating arm 57, link 56, carrier link 54 andlink '53 for restoring the protective cover 42 to its closed positionand push rod 48 to its extended position. Of course, during operation ofthe protective cover 42 to its closed position, rotation of operatinglever 57, pin 58 and, therefore, of cam 7'3 effects operation of switchdevice 71 to its closed position once again for closing the power loopcircuit, as above explained.

Having now described the invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. An automatic electrical connecting device for use with an automaticcar coupling apparatus having one coupler head carried on one car andadapted for locking with a counterpart mating coupler head carried onanother car, said automatic electrical connecting device comprising, incombination:

(a) a casing removably mountable on a coupler head and having anabutting face disp'osed perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of thecar for making abutting contact with an abutting face of a casing on thecounterpart coupler head,

(b) a contact unit slidably mounted in said casing for engagement in africtionally and separably locked relation with a similarly mountedcontact unit on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least oneelectrical connection between the cars,

(c) first spring means for biasing said contact unit, with the couplerhead in an uncoupled relation, to a normal position projecting outwardlyof said casing and slightly forward of said abutting face, said firstspring means being effective for assisting in forcing said contact unitinto such frictionally locked relation with the counterpart contact unitduring coupling movement of the coupler heads, and

(d) second spring means tensioned by separating movement of said contactunit from the counterpart contact unit during uncoupling of the couplerheads and thereby rendering said second spring means effective, after apredetermined amount of such separating movement, for overcoming thefrictional resistance of said contact unit to such separation andthereby causing such separation with a snap action for minimizingelectrical arcing between the contacts at the instant of separation.

2. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 1,further characterized by means for limiting sliding movement of saidcontact unit in opposite directions from its said normal position forinsuring such locked relation with the counterpart contact unit, uponcoupling of the coupler heads, and for insuring positive snap-actingseparation therefrom upon uncoupling of the coupler heads.

3. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 1,further characterized in that said contact unit comprises a plurality ofelectrical contact elements engageable with a similar plurality ofelectrical contact elements on the counterpart contact unit foreffecting said frictionally locked relation therebet-ween.

4. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined I in claim 1,further characterized by:

(a) a protective door pivotally mounted on said casing and having aclosed position in which said contact unit is covered against damage,

(b) linkage means for operating said protective door,

(c) spring means acting through said linkage means for biasing saidprotective door to its said closed position, and

(d) a push rod operatively connected to said linkage means andabuttingly engageable by the abutting face on the counterpart casingduring coupling operation for actuating said linkage means to cause saidprotective door to be operated to an open position in which said contactunit is uncovered in such time as to make abutting contact with thecounterpart contact unit before the abutting faces make contact.

5. The combination, as defined in claim 4, further characterized by anelectrical switch device operatively connected with said protective doorso as to occupy an open position, when said door is in its said openposition, and being operable, by operation of said door to its saidclosed position, to a circuit-closing position, whereby continuity oftrain control circuitry may be maintained through said switch device onthe coupler head at the rear end of the train when said protective dooris in its said closed position.

6. The combination, as defined in claim 1, further characterized by:

(a) manually operable means carried on said casing for manuallyoperating said contact unit while the coupler heads remain in a coupledrelation, to a retracted position in which said contact unit isdisengaged from the contact unit on the counterpart coupier head, and

(b) latching means for retaining said contact unit in said retractedposition.

7. The combination, as defined in claim 6, further characterized by anormally open electrical switch device operatively associated with saidcontact unit and being operable, by operation of said contact unit toits said retracted position, to a circuit-closing position, wherebycontinuity 12 of train control circuitry, normally maintained throughthe contact units when in a locked relation, is maintained through saidswitch device when said contact unit is in said retracted position.

8. In an automatic car and electric coupling apparatus having onecoupler head carried on one car and adapted for locking with acounterpart mating coupler head carried on another car, the combinationof:

(a) a casing carried on the one coupler head and having an abutting facedisposed perpendicularly to the iongitudinal axis of the car for makingabutting contact with an abutting face of a casing on the counterpartcoupler head,

(b) a contact unit slidably mounted in said casing for engagement in africtionally and separably locked relation with a similarly mountedcontact unit on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least oneelectrical connection between the cars,

(c) first spring means for biasing said contact unit, with the couplerhead in an uncoupled relation, to a normal position projecting outwardlyof said casing and slightly forward of said abutting face, said firstspring means being effective for assisting in forcing said contact unitinto such frictionally locked relation with the counterpart contact unitduring coupling movement of the coupler heads, and,

(d) second spring means tensioned by separating movement of said contactunit from the counterpart contact unit during uncoupling of the couplerheads and thereby rendering said second spring means effective, after apredetermined amount of such separating movement, for overcoming thefrictional resistance of said contact unit to such separation andthereby causing such separation with a snap action for minimizingelectrical arcing between the contacts at the instant of separation.

9. In an automatic car, air and electric coupling apparatus having onecoupler head carried on one car and adapted for looking with acounterpart mating coupler head carried on another car, the combinationof:

(a) a latching portion carried on the one coupler head and beingengageable with a latching portion carried on the counterpart couplerhead for locking the coupler heads together,

(b) a pipe-c0nnccting portion carried on the one coupler head and beingadapted for registering with a pipeconnecting portion on the counterpartcoupler head, when the coupler heads are locked together, for providinga plurality of air-tight fluid pressure connections between the cars,and

(c) an electrical circuitry-connecting portion having a multiple-contactunit slidabiy mounted thereon for engagement in a frictionally andseparably locked relation with a similarly mounted multiple-contact uniton an electrical circuitry-connecting portion of the counterpart couplerhead for providing a plurality of electrical connections between thecars, said multiple-contact unit being disposed in an outer positionwhile the coupler heads are uncoupled and being movable upon engagementwith the counterpart multiple-contact unit incidental to coupling of thecoupler heads to an inner position,

(d) spring means tensioned by the separating movement of the couplerheads incidental to uncoupling for biasing said multiple-contact unit inone direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car to assist inovercoming frictional resistance between the two multiple-contact unitswhen separating from each other during uncoupling of the coupler headsand for causing separation of said multiple-contact unit from thecounterpart unit with a snap action for minimizing electrical arcingbetween the several contacts at the instant of separation.

10. The combination, as defined in claim a, further 75 characterized byspring means for biasing said multiple- 13 contact unit in a directionopposite to said one direction for cushioning the impact of abuttingcontact with the counterpart unit and for assisting in effecting saidfrictionally locked relation therewith upon movement of the couplerheads into coupled relation.

11. The combination, as defined in claim It), further characterized by:

(a) a face plate carried by said latching portion in a dispositionperpendicular to said longitudinal axis and adapted for making abuttingcontact with a similarly disposed face plate on the counterpart latchingportion in the locked relation of the coupler heads, and

(b) said multiple-contact unit being biased by the differential of theopposing forces exerted thereon by said two spring means, in theuncoupled relation of the coupler head, to a normal position in whichsaid multiple-contact unit protrudes slightly beyond the abuttingsurface of said face plate to thereby make abutting contact with themultiple-contact unit on the counterpart coupler head before said faceplate makes abutting contact with the counterpart face plate.

12. The combination, as defined in claim 11, further characterized bymeans for limiting sliding movement of said multiple-contact unit inopposite directions from its said normal position for insuring saidlocked relation with the counterpart unit, upon coupling of the couplerheads, and for insuring positive snap-action separation therefrom uponuncoupling of the coupler heads.

13. The combination, as defined in claim 9, further characterized by:

(a) a plurality of electrical contact elements disposed on saidmultiple-contact unit and engageable with a similar plurality ofelectrical contact elements on the counterpart multiple-contact unit foreffecting said frictionally locked relation therebetween when thecoupler heads are in locked relation,

(b) a protective door pivotally mounted on said electricalcircuitry-connecting portion and having a closed position in which saidplurality of electrical contact elements is shielded against damage,

(c) linkage means for operating said protective door,

((1) spring means acting through said linkage means for biasing saidprotective door to its said closed position, and

(e) a push rod operatively connected to said linkage means andabuttingly engageable by the counterpart coupler head during couplingoperation for actuating said linkage means to cause said protective doorto be operated to an open position in which said plurality of electricalcontact elements is exposed in such time as to make abutting contactwith the similar plurality of electrical contact elements on thecounterpart multiple contact unit before the coupler heads are engagedin a locked relation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,453,817 5/1923 Westinghouse213-13 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

D. E. HOFFMAN, Assistant Examiner.

9. IN AN AUTOMATIC CAR, AIR AND ELECTRIC COUPLING APPARATUS HAVING ONECOUPLER HEAD CARRIED ON ONE CAR AND ADAPTED FOR LOCKING WITH ACOUNTERPART MATING COUPLER HEAD CARRIED ON ANOTHER CAR, THE COMBINATIONOF: (A) A LATCHING PORTION CARRIED ON THE ONE COUPLER HEAD AND BEINGENGAGEABLE WITH A LATCHING PORTION CARRIED ON THE COUNTERPART COUPLERHEAD FOR LOCKING THE COUPLER HEADS TOGETHER, (B) A PIPE-CONNECTINGPORTION CARRIED ON THE ONE COUPLER HEAD AND BEING ADAPTED FORREGISTERING WITH A PIPECONNECTING PORTION ON THE COUNTERPART COUPLERHEAD, WHEN THE COUPLER HEADS ARE LOCKED TOGETHER, FOR PROVIDING APLURALITY OF AIR-TIGHT FLUID PRESSURE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE CARS, AND(C) AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITRY-CONNECTING PORTION HAVING A MULTIPLE-CONTACTUNIT SLIDABLY MOUNTED THEREON FOR ENGAGEMENT IN A FRICTIONALLY ANDSEPARABLY LOCKED RELATION WITH A SIMILARLY MOUNTED MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNITON AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITRY-CONNECTING PORTION OF THE COUNTERPART COUPLERHEAD FOR PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THECARS, SAID MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNIT BEING DISPOSED IN AN OUTER POSITIONWHILE THE COUPLER HEADS ARE UNCOUPLED AND BEING MOVABLE UPON ENGAGEMENTWITH THE COUNTERPART MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNIT INCIDENTAL TO COUPLING OF THECOUPLER HEADS TO AN INNER POSITION, (D) SPRING MEANS TENSIONED BY THESEPARATING MOVEMENT OF THE COUPLER HEADS INCIDENTAL TO UNCOUPLING FORBIASING SAID MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNIT IN ONE DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THELONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CAR TO ASSIST IN OVERCOMING FRICTIONALRESISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNITS WHEN SEPARATING FROMEACH OTHER DURING UNCOUPLING OF THE COUPLER HEADS AND FOR CAUSINGSEPARATION OF SAID MULTIPLE-CONTACT UNIT FROM THE COUNTERPART UNIT WITHA SNAP ACTION FOR MINIMIZING ELECTRICAL ARCING BETWEEN THE SEVERALCONTACTS AT THE INSTANT OF SEPARATION.